Final Goodbye
by frodosgirl15
Summary: My own take on Eponine's death. A oneshot songfic featuring the song Final Goodbye by Rihanna.


Eponine Thénardier fumbled up the barricade, eyes blinded by tears. The wooden parts of the blockade blended together in the salty mist, hindering her vision. Her hands now free of Marius's letter to her rival, the young girl clutched her drab, worn coat close to her heart with one hand, and kept what balance she had with the other. She blinked furiously to get rid of the stubborn, wet evidence of her solitude. What would he say if he saw her weep?

In a moment of frantic sightlessness, the street mouse trusted her weight to a half-rotted slab of wood. With a staccato snap, it splintered, betraying her to gravity. Still trapped unknowingly in her adamant goal, she was caught off guard and fell, a scream exploding within her throat.

Eponine would never know if it was the sound of the wood breaking, or her own cry, or the sudden movement that started it. And suddenly, it did not matter what started it. She began to hear the pop of the guns, at first sporadically, then it became a steady pounding, like a cloudburst. A whirring sound by her ear. A chair's seat exploding next to her.And in that moment, not even the guns would have mattered to her as she got up to reattempt her trek…

…until the pops, whirring noises, and explosions finally caught up with her body.

_I never should have waited so long to say  
What I've always known since the very first day  
Thought that you would stay forever with me  
But the time has come to leave_

The girl's body gave way as she collapsed onto the unyielding mass of wood. Already she could feel the warm blood make contact with her skin, like detached, crimson tears. And still, the unfeeling guns kept waging war upon the lifeless barricade, not knowing their imaginary threat had been cut down. In a flash of clarity, Eponine's eyes grew wide, staring at the red backdrop of the sunset. The harsh realization stormed the girl's consciousness: 'I could die here, without ever…' She bit her lip as more tears leapt into her eyes. For a moment she felt like her heart had stopped beating. 'No!' A mixture of anger at herself for almost giving up, determination to scale the barrier, and fear she wouldn't survive consumed her.

With a frustrated, animalistic grunt, the street mouse hoisted herself up, gripping onto a wagon wheel perched beside her on the wall of wood. She looked up. The peak was not far from her position, but to a desperate woman, it was a lifelong trek. A foothold here. A handle there…she was going to make it…he was going to know the truth…

…if she could just stop the seeping blood.

_Before we turn out the lights and close our eyes  
I'll tell you a secret I've held all my life  
It's you that I live for, and for you I die  
So I'll lay here with you 'til the final goodbye_

Someone was looking over the barricade, staring her right in the eyes. "What is your purpose here, boy?" Eponine could not distinguish his face in the ever-deepening night, but she knew immediately that it was not_him_.

"I'm here for, for Monsieur Marius," Eponine panted.

The man turned back around, facing his allies down below. "Marius!" he called sharply.

Shaking, Eponine reached out a hand. "Help me," she rasped.

Above, there was a shuffling noise; the shape of the man twisted against the sky before an arm reached out and pulled her to salvation atop the watchman's post. As she was rescued, Eponine's head fell upon the man's shoulder, her body conforming to his. That scent…these hands…they were familiar.

Eponine gasped and jumped back, looking up at his face, now clear in the moonlight. "Monsieur Marius!"

"Eponine?!" Marius asked, his eyes searching hers for the first time. "God above, 'Ponine, are you out of your head? I asked you to deliver the letter to Cosette, not come back to places where you don't belong!" He grasped her upper arms to make sure the girl was listening.

Eponine stared at her feet. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Marius sighed. "I would make you go back," he began. Eponine's head snapped up. Her eyes went wide and her body stiff at the thought of being parted from him so soon after fighting so hard to be at his side. "But," continued Marius, "it would be too dangerous right now. We heard the gunshots a moment ago…" His voice disappeared for a moment before he looked away, toward his fellow students. Marius started down the massive puzzle of wood, holding on to Eponine's hand, leading her. He glanced behind himself at the girl. "Well, as long as you're staying for a while, can you please tell me what she said, dear 'Ponine?"

"Don't call me that!" Eponine stole her hand back from his touch. Marius sucked in a breath, mouth gaping, moonlit eyes growing wide. Eponine stared at him for a moment, confused as to what made his face contort in horror. She followed his gaze only to find that her sudden movement caused her coat to open, revealing a white shirt bathed in red blood.

All of a sudden, the pain rushed back into her nerves, the familiar, cold despair filled her mind. Eponine doubled over in pain, clutching the soaked hole in her torso. Her legs finally gave way as suddenly as the wood on the barricade. She was falling once more; her eyes shut in anticipation of the impact…

Eponine opened her eyes to find that Marius had caught her, his arms grabbing her just below her chest. "Oh, Eponine," he murmured near her ear. "Why didn't you tell me?" He was not chastising her; his voice was like dark velvet, not scolding like it had been before.

"I suppose," Eponine answered, "being with you made me forget about the pain." She did not look behind her. If this bullet didn't kill her right then, his soft, pitying eyes would.

_  
Hold, draw me close, close to my lips  
Listen intently as I tell you this  
Outside the world wages its wars,  
I'll rest in peace as long as you know_

Slowly, like he was holding a glass doll, Marius carried them both to the ground, Eponine's upper body nested in his lap. The girl smiled pitifully up at him. "Cosette's father promised to deliver the letter," she informed him.

"'Ponine, you always were a foolish girl." Marius chuckled once at insult in a vain attempt to make things the slightest bit normal. He held the girl's head against his heart, rocking them back and forth. "Don't talk about that now. I'm here, you're alright…"

"I know," sighed Eponine as she closed her eyes, her body warm against the coldness of night…or was it approaching death? She groped for a moment until she found his hand. Marius understood, housing her rugged palm in his more delicate one.

"Eponine…" Marius mumbled frantically. "Live. Please, God, live. If I have to endure the rest of my life knowing that you came back over the barricade at night just to give me news of the letter…" But that was only the partial reason, and he knew it.

"I didn't." The street mouse cut the student off. "It was never about the letter, Marius. It was my choice to return to you. I was not going to stand by in front of the barricade and watch you risk your life behind it. I was going to fight and maybe even die beside you." She gave one final, muted laugh. "It seems that I have accomplished at least one of the two."

_  
Promise you our love will carry on  
Until you turn eternal, we belong_

All of a sudden, Eponine gasped for breath. Marius jumped at the sudden action, gripping her hand tighter, the girl's fingers responding in turn. She gazed at him with eyes frantic and wide, but at the same time yielding, pleading. Her time of departure was near. "Marius," she panted, her chest raising and falling violently. "Please…hold me, just hold me…let me stay like this until…"_  
_

Marius did not give her time to finish the words he did not want to hear. He bowed his back, completely consuming the girl. Over her quivering body, he shook his head, tears already approaching the cliff of skin, waiting to fall. Gradually, the trembling died out, her fingers we no longer wrapped around his, and the heated breath against his chest cooled.

"Eponine?" he whispered. His body retreated, hovering over hers once more. But he knew the truth. The girl's eyes were closed, her mouth frozen in a gentle line. When Marius touched the skin of her cheek with his hand, Eponine's limp arm tumbled to the ground. His mouth brushed against the cold forehead of his dear friend.

_His respectful lips for the last time  
And spell out the lyrics to love in the sky  
Its you that I live for and for you I die  
So I'll lay here with you till the final goodbye_

Because that was all she would ever be.

His dear friend.

_Goodbye_


End file.
